A Penny for Your Thoughts
by MoonlightGardenias
Summary: One Shot....Meredith sits alone at Joe's. She begins to open up to him about what she thinks, only to find the person she's thinking of hears the entire thing. Suddenly, her point of view isn't so clouded anymore.


A/N:Pretty much a one shot...I just wanna add that while I'm a Derek/Meredith fan, this story is sort of about the whole George/Meredith situation. Sunday's eppy sorta inspired me to write it. As always, comments and reviews are welcome!

Meredith walked into Joe's, sighing as she sat upon a stool. "Long day?"He asked from behind the bar. Running her hands through her hair, Meredith closed her eyes and nodded. "You have no idea."She said, leaning her chin into her hands. Sighing, Joe knew that he was in for a long night. Not that he minded. He actually liked hearing about the lives of his customers.

But the look on her face was nothing but good. "You know..."He said, grabbing a bottle of tequila pouring some into a shot glass. "Sometimes it helps if you talk to someone about your problems...helps clear the air a bit." Laughing, Meredith took the glass from him. Drinking it down in one swallow, she winced. "I'd doubt that you'd be interested. Even if you were...It'd seem like some crazy scenario off of a soap opera. You know...sometimes I swear that's what life is...Can't we just hurry up and get to the previews?"

Joe averted her gaze, and began to wipe down the counter. Meredith actually began to wonder why her friends weren't coming in. They tried to all get together atleast a few times after work a week to dish stories.

"Joe..."She said, handing him her glass. "Yeah?"He asked, wondering what she would say. "Do you...ever do something and regret doing it afterward?...Something felt right when you were doing it...but it turns out you were doing it for the wrong reasons?" He remained quiet for a minute, wondering what she meant.

"Well...I guess it depends."He said, again filling up the shot glass. "I just don't get it, ya know?I try time...and time...and time again. And I screw things up. It's like a cycle that can't be broken."Taking a deep breath, Meredith downed another glass.

'Hey...You might wanna slow down a bit.Just...calm down...think through things."Joe said, not wanting to upset her. Meredith look at him, tears brimming her eyelids. "What's there to thing about? I screwed a good friendship up...I perfectly good one. And for what? 'Cause I like some married guy who-"

She stopped, balling her hands up into fists. She swore to herself that she wouldn't let her emotions get the better of her. "Is there any chance that this...friendship...can be spared?"Joe asked, hoping it didn't seem like he was intruding.

He had seen and heard of plenty of heartbreak, being a bartender and all. "I don't...I don't know. He didn't deserve what happened. He didn't need what happened to him. All he ever did was love me...and I threw that away for a guy who just told me that we're supposed be 'just friends' ...how is anyone that stupid?"

Joe shook his head, knowing better than to intrude. "It's slow in here tonight."Meredith said, hoping to change the subject.

"That it is."Joe said, looking around. A couple sat talking in the corner. An older man sat at the far end of the bar. A couple of friends stood by a jukebox. And in the doorway, stood George. Clearing his throat, Joe gave him a glance. "What would you do...if you saw this friend of yours?Would you say anything to him?"

Meredith stared at Joe, curious. "I'd just...I'd tell him that I'm sorry. I know that that's not enough...but it's what i'd say. I've been nothing but a jerk...The truth is that I never really gave it a chance. I just said it wouldn't work. I don't...I don't wanna ruin the friendship with anything like...that. I already ruined my friendship with him..."

"No you didn't."George said, standing in the doorway. Spinning around on her stool, Meredith stood speechless. "George...I...I'm..." George slowly walked towards her, not sure what to say. Not sure what to do.

"How much of that did you hear?"Meredith managed to ask, before needing to sit down again.

"Enough.Mer...The truth is...I don't want to ruin anything either. So if that means..."George said, trailing off. He never really understood why it was he liked Meredith, or why it was that she had never noticed. All he knew now was that he couldn't risk it. "George."Merdith said, clmbing back on a stool. "Do you believe in fate?"

Sitting down on the stool next to her, George thought about her question. "I...I guess I do. Why?"He asked, staring her her. He tried to read what she was thinking. He wanted to know what was going on inside her head. "Do you think that things were meant to play out like this?That we...as as people..are ultimately victims of fate?"

George shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. But...what I do know...is that You...You mean alot to me. I can;t afford to risk that friendship for something outside of that." Merdith sighed, closing her eyes. "So what...we just go back to pretending it never happened? I don't think Izzie, Christina, Alex...and everyone else will actually believe that.My friends hate me now...and I deserve that."

"I was a total jerk to you..."Her voice trailed off, looking at him. There was something about George that seemed so familiar, so real. He was always a guy Meredith thought she could talk to.

"No Mer...you weren't. I-I took advantage of a bad situation. You were hurting because of what happened with...Derek.We were both at fault.Now...what do we do?"George asked her. Shrugging, Merdith wiped away a solitary tear. "To tell you the truth...I have no clue. I mean...it's been so long since I've ever actually...talked to anyone."Meredith said.

George stared at her curiously. "Whaddaya mean? I see you and Iz dishing about her and Alex's latest crusade every day in the locker room.'' Merdith shook ker head. "No...I mean...like...I don't know."Merdith sighed in frustration. It felt good to talk. It was good to get everything out in the open.

"I talked to Derek earlier."She said, staring straight ahead. "He uh...He said he wants us to be friends."It was then that Meredith looked at him.

George always seemed to be so careful. So understanding. Meredith couldn't remember the last time she had someone like that in her life. "Friends?'George asked, looking back. Nodding, Meredith pursed her lips. "Yep...I should be happy about it, right? I mean-I'd rather have him as a friend than nothing at all. But-"Meredith paused, drawing a deep breath.

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't..."Meredith said, realizing the slight awkwardness of the situation. "Huh?"George asked. "Oh...no..it's fine.I-I get it now." Staring at him, she fiddled with a coaster on the counter. "What do you mean?"She asked him.

"Why you like that McDreamy guy.It's a commom idea...we all want something we know we can't have.We spend our lives running from the love that we've always wanted...because we're afraid to choose. We don't wanna get hurt...but we're like moths to the flame."He said, not really sure where it came from.

Meredith stared at him curiously. Where was it that He pulled all this stuff from? Had anyone else overheard what George had said, it probably wouldn't have made sense. Smiling weakly, Meredith tilted her head to the side, she cleared her throat. "Why is it that you always make sense?" Shrugging, He took a sip of his drink. "Some might call it a gift."George said. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he coughed.

"You know what?We deserve more than this, ya know?We can take chances...we should, right?"George asked. "What are you talking about? Taking chances?...What do you suggest?"Meredith asked.

"The next people that walk through that door...we talk to them.We...do whatever it takes to get thier attention.Sound like a good idea?" She should have known it wasn't, she should have said no. But the way her life was going, she thought 'why not?'

Five minutes later, Tequila came spewing out of her mouth. "Uh...You don't...you don't have to...to follow through.You can wait for the next guy."George said, somewhat fearing the look that crossed her face.

"No...you know what...I'm gonna take a chance.I'm gonna..I'm gonna talk to Derek."Meredith said, taking a deep breath. "Are you sure?...I can make him leave if you want?"George offered. Meredith stared past George at Derek. "No...I can do this...I _need_ to do this. Thanks to you George...I'm ready."


End file.
